On July 1, 2001 Portugal decriminalized the possession of all drugs for personal use. This new law is called Law 30/2000, which decriminalized the use, possession and acquisition of all types of illicit substances for personal use, which was defined as being up to ten days supply of that substance, but it is still an administrative violation that is punishable by fines or community service. It has now been 14 years since the decriminalization law has come into effect and Portugal is still standing strong and has not been overrun with drugs or drug addicts.
History of Portugal and its drug use1
Portugal experienced fifty years of military dictatorship during the mid-twentieth century and in 1974 leftist democratic control was reestablished …show more content…
Many people and countries had their concerns about Portugal’s decision to decriminalize all drugs, and it may have been a dangerous decision, but there has been reason’s to see it as a success, even though many refuse, to this day, to see the success in their decisions. One reason that Portugal sees their law to be successful is that there has been an impact on the levels of drug use. According to George Murkin, there are many reasons to believe that the decriminalization has impacted the drug use post-decriminalization. These reasons are as follows:
•Levels of drug use are below the European average
•Drug use has declined among those aged 15-24, the population most at risk of initiating drug use
•Lifetime drug use among the general population has increased slightly, in line with trends in comparable nearby countries. However, lifetime use is widely considered to be the least accurate measure of a country’s current drug use …show more content…
Also, some have argued that, since 2001, drug-related deaths in Portugal either remained constant or actually increased. However, these claims are based on the number of people who died with traces of any illicit drug in their body, rather than the number of people who died as a result of the use of an illicit drug. The numbers actually show that deaths due to drug use have decreased significantly. The numbers show that that there were approximately 80 deaths in 2001, and 16 deaths in
History of Portugal and its drug use1
Portugal experienced fifty years of military dictatorship during the mid-twentieth century and in 1974 leftist democratic control was reestablished …show more content…
Many people and countries had their concerns about Portugal’s decision to decriminalize all drugs, and it may have been a dangerous decision, but there has been reason’s to see it as a success, even though many refuse, to this day, to see the success in their decisions. One reason that Portugal sees their law to be successful is that there has been an impact on the levels of drug use. According to George Murkin, there are many reasons to believe that the decriminalization has impacted the drug use post-decriminalization. These reasons are as follows:
•Levels of drug use are below the European average
•Drug use has declined among those aged 15-24, the population most at risk of initiating drug use
•Lifetime drug use among the general population has increased slightly, in line with trends in comparable nearby countries. However, lifetime use is widely considered to be the least accurate measure of a country’s current drug use …show more content…
Also, some have argued that, since 2001, drug-related deaths in Portugal either remained constant or actually increased. However, these claims are based on the number of people who died with traces of any illicit drug in their body, rather than the number of people who died as a result of the use of an illicit drug. The numbers actually show that deaths due to drug use have decreased significantly. The numbers show that that there were approximately 80 deaths in 2001, and 16 deaths in